Jharel Cotton missed all of 2018 season after Tommy John surgery

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OAKLAND, CA – MAY 12: Oakland Athletics’ Ramon Laureano (22) scores a run against Cleveland Indians’ Roberto Perez (55) off of a single by Oakland Athletics’ Jurickson Profar (23) in the third inning at the Coliseum in Oakland, Calif., on Sunday, May 12, 2019. (Nhat V. Meyer/Bay Area News Group)

With the way Oakland’s offense performed in its series-opening win over the Tigers on Thursday, hanging up 17 runs on 16 hits, it’s a surprise that the A’s would have even wanted to leave the ballpark.

Even so, with three left-handed pitchers on the horizon to close out the series, manager Bob Melvin expects some shuffling with the A’s lineup over the next three games.

Perhaps the most notable of substitutions for Friday’s game comes in center field, where Mark Canha replaces Ramon Laureano, who’s started 42 games this season, in center field. Despite being a slight downgrade in the field, Melvin said he’s “very comfortable” with Canha’s role and has been impressed with the way he’s developed.

“Mark has done such a nice job, especially last year he really got a feel for playing the position,” Melvin said. “We’re comfortable with him any time.”

Chad Pinder, who’s posted just a .227 average in May after knocking three home runs and batting .281 in the first month of the season, will get the start in left field.

Cotton starts rehab

Meanwhile, back in California, A’s right-hander Jharel Cotton will make his first start since Sept. 2017 for Oakland’s High-A affiliate, the Stockton Ports. Cotton missed the entire 2018 season while recovering from Tommy John surgery.

Before Friday night’s game in Detroit, Melvin told reporters that the biggest thing he’d like to see in Cotton’s first outing of the season is to “just get out of it healthy.”

Melvin speculated that the 27-year-old Cotton, who had an ERA of 5.58 and a 9-10 record in 24 starts during the 2017 season with Oakland, would pitch about three innings or 45 pitches.

“Once we get his pitch count up, we’ll probably look a little more for results,” Melvin said.